A beautiful heartwarming 2D PlayStation JRPG - Popolocrois Monogatari Review（ポポロクロイス物語プレイステーション版）

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welcome to Saki Endo's Rubbish Heap, a game review channel focusing on retro games but some modern stuff and mostly games from Japan. The Rubbish Heap crew will tell you how accessible the games are to non Japanese speakers and for those learning the language the difficulty level.

[episode 029] Popolocrois Monogatari Review（ポポロクロイス物語）

Popolocrois Monogatari (ENG: The Tale of Popolocrois) was a 2D pixel art style JRPG that came out only in Japan for the PlayStation in 1996, however it was meant to be one of the earliest JRPGs for the system but its release slipped. Yousuke Tamori's Popolocrois story is a heart warming fantasy set in the eponymous land featuring Pietro a 10 year old boy who sets out to get back the crown stolen by the nefarious Gami Gami Devil.

But there is a lot more evil lurking, and it seems that Pietro's mother is at the heart of the mystery. Pietro's mother has been in a coma since his birth and he has long believed her to be dead, but it turns out her body is lying in a tower adjacent to the castle. Why is she there, and what secret does her body hold?

Popolocrois continues the tradition of the grand Super Nintendo RPGs by pushing the envelope further with some voice acting, FMVs and even more detailed graphics along with a story that will make you smile, laugh and sometimes well up.

[translation notes]

The PlayStation version was never released outside of Japan, but an English translation patch now exists:

https://vimm.net/romhacking/translati...

Alternatively, a version for the PSP though abridged contains an additional unique chapter of the story, as well as an abridged version of Popolocrois Monogatari II. In the UK at least it is not an overly expensive game second hand.

[social media, game ratings explanation, notes]

Don't forget Saki is on THE social media, SpaceHey!
https://spacehey.com/profile?id=2731939
and now also on BlueSky!
https://bsky.app/profile/rubbishheap....

Review ratings and Japanese levels explained:
https://pastebin.com/82ftu6H2

Games featured: Popolocrois Monogatari - Developed by G-Artists/Sugar & Rockets and Published by Sony Computer Entertainment 1996-07-12 (July 12th 1996) in Japan. Recorded on a real Japanese PlayStation (SCPH-7000) via SVideo with the original game media on CD-ROM.

#learnjapanese #retrogaming #playstation

[other links]

Future Saviors manga featuring Saki, Hisao, and Kaito: http://linktr.ee/futuresaviors

Vix in Japan YouTube (creator and artist of Saki Endo's Rubbish Heap): @vix_in_japan

Future Saviors manga channel: @future_saviors

The making of Saki Endo's Rubbish Heap:    • The Making of Saki Endo's Rubbish Heap  

[credits]

All artwork except the following is Copyright ©️2025 Saki Endo's Rubbish Heap / @vix_in_japan . Illustrated by hand and finished in Aseprite and Deluxe Paint on the Commodore Amiga. Edited in iMovie with some Keynote. NO AI USED FOR THE ARTWORK 👊 Created 100% by ‪@vix_in_japan‬ .

Static video footage: freestockfootagearchive.com / ‪@FreeStockFootageArchive‬